From Milan to Paris to New York, the Met Gala 2020 cancellation is the announcement heard around the fashion world. Who doesn’t look forward to our beloved A-listers hitting the red carpet as they fundraise for the Costume Institute? But the Met broke our hearts on May 19: in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the glamorous ball is officially canceled.
Often dubbed the celebrity “party of the year”, the Vogue-hosted celebration will next happen at it’s regularly scheduled date in 2021. The Met Gala typically happens on the first Monday of May — what would have been May 4 this year. While this date had already passed, fashion junkies and celebrity admirers alike had hoped that a simple postponement was in the works. Unfortunately, this is not so.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been closed since mid-March; museum directors hope that this historical and cultural hub will open up again in August, or “perhaps a few weeks later”. Even if the Met opens at its planned time, social distancing measures will likely take a toll on the visitor experience. Reduced occupancy and hours are exceedingly probable. There will be no tours, concerts or events taking place at the Met for the rest of 2020. Even the celebration of the museum’s 150th anniversary will be delayed into 2021.
The cancellation of the Met Gala results in a serious blow to the Costume Institute, as this event is their main fundraiser. This makes sense considering last year’s fête raised over $15 million. The fashion exhibition at the Costume Institute always correlates to the theme of the Met Gala; last year’s exhibition “Camp: Notes on Fashion” was quite a hit, riddled with costumes that were — as the theme dictated — “too much”.
The 2020 exhibition is “About Time: Fashion and Duration.” While many of us wish we were able to see our favorite celebrities don some beautifully historic pieces, at least we still have the potential to check out the exhibition. Pandemic permitting, the Costume Institute plans to open the exhibition on October 29, keeping it open until February 7, 2021.
From this display, perhaps we will be able to imagine what our celebrity icons would be wearing. This party is the time when the famous show off their style, persona and creativity. For the viewers, it is the time when we determine the fashion “hits” or “misses”, all while admiring (or critiquing!) ensembles we could never afford. The Met Gala truly is an all-encompassing affair! If your imagination of this party doesn’t quite do the trick, check out this preview of what was supposed to be the Met Gala of 2020.
At the time of the postponement, more than a few celebrities posted in tribute to the Met Gala itself. We can only hope that because the ball is now officially canceled, we will see a few more celebrity outfits on social media!
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